A stand off between the 3 vessels ensued until CaptainJean-Luc Picard dropped his shields as a sign of good faith to discuss the situation. Unfortunately, the Buyout attacked the Enterprise at that exact moment, and the Federation flagship suffered massive sensor damage. The Buyout then attacked the Pathfinder and in an effort to stop the Ferengi, the Enterprise fired back on the Buyout, though by the time the Enterprise had started attacking the Ferengi vessel, she had already damaged the Pathfinder so much that her starboard warp nacelle had been sheered right off and a warp core breach was imminent.

Fortunately, the Pathfinder had ejected it's core, although it detonated too close and the Pathfinder spun out of control. Meanwhile, the Enterprise initiated its saucer separation and its battle section went after the Buyout, while it's saucer section went for the Pathfinder. The Enterprise's battle section engaged in a firefight with the Buyout in orbit of Halkan and the Enterprise came so close to the Buyout that she scraped some of the paint off of the hull and the Ferengi vessel spun, completely out of control. That did not stop the Buyout however, as beams shot out from the ship, intent on detonating the dilithium deposits on the planet. Fortunately, the Enterprise destroyed the Buyout, though the Pathfinder crashed on the surface and was lost. (TOSnovel: Preserver)